


In An Instant

by StyxThanatos



Series: In an Instant [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-05-31 17:50:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6480559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StyxThanatos/pseuds/StyxThanatos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate Universe where OC's enter and change the outcome/direction. Seriously canon divergent.</p><p>WIP.. Will be adding chapters as I get them done</p><p>Upped the rating to mature just to cover the bases.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, Kudos, Critiques are all welcome. Good, bad, indifferent would love feedback on this one :)

Prologue

Liara sat on the couch with a glass of Asari wine in her hand. Shepard had a bottle of whiskey in hers. They were a couple hours into some well deserved girl time. Time neither of them had been able to find until tonight.

“I miss Ashley, what she would say about all this.” Shepard began. “But you know she’s not the only one. Pressley, Jenkins, Talitha. All of them were valuable members of my crew. I’m still shocked that no one died on the collector base. Dumb luck I guess. With what’s coming we’re going to lose more. People I know and care about are going to be sacrificed to defeat this enemy.” Her face showed how weary and worn she was. She took a large swallow directly from the bottle not looking at Liara.

“Shepard, I have nothing to offer you as comfort. This is a monumental task we have before us. Others have tried and failed, and from what we know, over and over again. But I know you, your drive to never give up. To make sure as many survive as you can. These things will help. All of us are willing to do what is necessary to end this. You’ve got people that have your back. Garrus, Tali, Wrex, me, even Joker and Chakwas; we’ve known you since the beginning of this madness. We’re here for you, offering what we can.” Liara smiled “You’ve even managed to amass several more in the last few years. Thane, Mordin, Miranda, Grunt and I believe even Zaeed to name a few.”

“But it won’t be enough. We need the entire galaxy united to end the Reapers and I can’t even get the council to acknowledge they exist. If I see Councilor Sparatus use air quotes one more time there won’t be any hope of the Turians joining any alliance we manage. I swear that turian thinks that by using a human gesture he can be related to better. All it does is make me…” Her omnitool beeped interrupting her tirade. She glanced down to read the message. “Dammit! This spam file keeps coming through!” Exhaustion and exasperation in her tone “Liara, I’ve paid good credits to firewall my tool. Several different anti-spam programs and this message keeps on getting through.” She looked at her friend clearly at her wits end.

“Well have you tried to open it?” Liara asked amused at the look of exasperation on Shepard's face “I doubt with all the safeguards you have in place and the friends…” She cleared her throat meaningfully “…you have that it can really do any damage.”

“I’ve tried that, all I get is a file name; nothing else. No attachments or any context for the message. Here let me forward it to you.” Shepard hit some buttons and Liara’s tool beeped.

Liara looked at her omnitools, disbelief on her face as she scanned the message. “Shepard, this is Prothean. Why would you be getting spammed with Prothean mail?”

“What?! Prothean?! Shit!” Shepard cringed “The only thing I get out of this is FILE# M0RG1Z1. Does that mean anything to you?”

“Not a thing. I can send out feelers for anything further on it though. I’m sure we’ll figure it out. Have you tried replying to the message?”

Shepard nodded her head yes. “I’ve tried answering, I’ve tried blocking, I’ve even tried changing my extranet address and rerouting through several anonymous servers. It still manages to find my omnitool, not my terminal, just my tool. I’m getting beyond frustrated, it’s almost like the Beacon, someone is trying to tell me something and I’m too dumb to figure it out. And they are going to keep hammering at me until I get it.”

Liara gave her a piercing look then just nodded once and took a drink from her glass. Avoiding that quagmire she smiled “So what were you saying you wanted to do to the Turian Councilor?”

“Liara, you know me too well.” She sounded sheepish, but not enough to avoid the question. “I want to break his talons off one by one and shove them up his ass; while yelling ‘we have dismissed that claim’, in a condescending voice.”

Liara laughed out loud, a full, joyous laugh that Shepard hadn’t heard in years. She had become far too serious since taking on the mantle of the Shadow Broker. As helpful as that title was to Shepard and her crew, she still missed her young and idealistic friend.

Serious talk over for the time being, they both focused on their respective drinks and gossiped about their mutual friends for the remainder of the night.

Shepard woke alone in her quarters, her terminal beeping with the new message tone. She looked at her clock next to her bed with bleary eyes. When the numbers focused she saw it was twenty minutes before her alarm was set to go off. She groaned and rolled out of bed walking over to her desk. She logged in and clicked on the new message icon on her screen. Admiral Hackett greeted her with a look of surprise.

“Shepard, I’m sorry for waking you. I’ll keep this brief. We have a deep cover operative out in Batarian space. Name’s Doctor Amanda Kenson. Dr. Kenson recently reported that she had found evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion.”

“Why call me?” Shepard asked

“Just this morning I received word that the Batarians arrested her. They’re holding her in a secret prison outpost on terrorism charges. I need you to infiltrate the prison and get her out of there. As a favor to me I’m asking you to go in alone.”

“Alright, I’ll make this a priority.”

“Sending the coordinates now; we’ll debrief you on your return.”

The mission to rescue Kenson went badly. She managed to get her out of the prison without too much trouble. The trouble came after. Kenson and her crew on the asteroid were indoctrinated by one of the Reaper devices littering the galaxy. By the time Shepard had that all sorted out over 300,000 Batarians were dead and the Alliance was looking for a way to avoid war.

Enter Shepard the scapegoat; until the Reapers showed up. Then she was the most important person in the galaxy; AGAIN…


	2. In the Interm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pieces begin to fit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, Critiques or Kudos are all welcome. :)

After the Alpha Relay Incident; Liara left the Normandy to return to Hagalaz. There she resumed her hermitage on the Shadow Broker ship. Her thoughts turned to the mysterious file that had been sent to Shepard. As the most powerful information dealer in the known galaxy she had the ability to ferret out almost anything. This file however, wasn’t turning up in any normal searches; so she tasked Glyph with finding out everything he could and went back to the more mundane tasks of maintaining her network.

Several days later Liara paced the floor, her steps filled with nervous energy as Glyph relayed the information he had been able to gather regarding Shepard’s mysterious Prothean message,

“Dr. T’Soni I have found several references to the Prothean file you asked me about. It seems to have cropped up in numerous systems throughout the galaxy. All but one show up as pictographs carved in various locations. The one anomaly is a video file stored at the Mars Archives. Would you like to hear it?”

“Yes, Glyph, please upload the video to my omnitool.”

**_File #M0RG1Z1 (Video file found at the Mars Archives)_ **

**_“I’m the last, if anyone finds this, Whoever you are, if the Reapers are here now find {Message too degraded to translate} at these coordinates….He (Explosion sounds in the background){Message degraded}… Is this thing still working? Go ahead, I’ll be okay… I got her…” A humanoid image appears but the message is too degraded to show detail. Whoever they are they appear to be bent over then the message flashes and ends._ **

“Interesting, Please display the images, Glyph” The Asari turned, as the screens panned to reveal several images of Prothean ruins with the same combination Liara had seen on Shepard’s omnitool message. Each one was found in a seemingly random location. Though there obviously had been intent with their placement. Styx Theta, Horsehead, Hades Gamma, Armstrong Cluster; it looked like there were pictographs in each system throughout the galaxy. One had even been found on the Citadel, though it looked like regular graffiti. Bet the Keepers had cleaned that up quick, Liara thought to herself as she examined the Prothean engravings.

“Glyph, did you find these all together or did you have to compile them from several sources?”

“Dr. T’Soni with the exception of the audio file all images and resulting information were found in the original Shadow Broker’s files on the Reapers. He seemed to think it was important.”

“Do the Mars Archives have any other records associated with this file?”

“Compiling data now Dr. T’Soni”.

Liara wondered if she could get permission to look through what was there. Maybe a call to a certain Admiral or even the Council could get her access. The Admiral had kept in touch since Shepard had turned herself in. He was keeping her apprised of the machinations that were playing out on Earth. Liara had to wonder if this information would do anything about getting Shepard released so she could get back in the fight.

Sighing to herself, she stepped to a terminal and sent out an encrypted message to Alliance Command; a small smile forming as she waited for a reply.

“Dr. T’Soni, I have found more information pertaining to the Prothean audio file. The coordinates mentioned in the record lead to the Pangaea Expanse system.”

“Please tell me that it’s not on Ilos…” Liara whispered to herself. She had never been allowed back on that planet. The Council had deemed it a waste of time and wouldn’t grant her access after Sovereign had been defeated. As the Shadow Broker she knew for a fact that no one other than SPECTREs had been allowed. Though there were murmurs lately of something going on there. Nothing concrete, just little whispers of vague information floating around her network.

“Actually, Doctor, the coordinates lead to Agetoton. There are several areas of debris that infer Protheans were there before their extinction. Though if you do get the chance to go there I would suggest you wear your armor, it is a very inhospitable place for oxygen breathing species. It has an atmosphere made up of carbon dioxide and methane along with an average temperature of 510 degrees Celsius.”

Ignoring Glyph’s comments, Liara brought up the system map, wondering if she was finally going to return to Ilos. Even though the coordinates led to Agetoton, her gut was telling her there was something just as important on the other planet in the Refuge system.

After several minutes of staring blankly at the map, her terminal emitted a tone indicating a new message had come in. She reached over and tapped the console accepting it. Admiral Hackett appeared on the screen.

“Dr. T’Soni, what can I do for you?” He asked in his usual rough tone, not wasting time on pleasantries.

“I need access to the Mars Archive, I may have found something in my research that could help us against the Reapers.”

“What can you tell me? I need something to give the Committee to get you in.” Hackett didn’t seem worried but then he never did. Liara thought it was just who he was. The man never came across ruffled no matter the situation, probably came from being a career military man.

“I found hints, fragments of information; ideas for a device of some sort that looks like it could be powerful enough to stop them. I believe the Mars Archive has more solid data that could narrow down the search.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” With that resolved he filled her in on what was happening on Earth. “Shepard has been brought before the Committee. They are trying to get her to admit that taking out the relay in Batarian space was a mistake; that somehow it could have been handled differently.” He sighed in consternation “Even with all the files and information she turned over when she arrived, they keep ignoring the real threat.”

“They’re scared. Scared people don’t react rationally, you know this Admiral.” Liara replied “They won’t see until the Reapers are burning all our worlds and by then I’m afraid it will be too late. Inform me when you have an answer please. I must return to my work.” She smiled to lessen the bite of her words. “Thank you Admiral, for everything.”

“I’ll be in touch, Hackett out.” With those words his visage faded from her terminal. Liara turned back to the map, her eyes looking at nothing as she remembered the mission that landed them on Ilos. She wondered if any of the tech had survived the Council’s purge. She knew from reports filed by the Spectres that had gone after the whole Saren/Sovereign debacle that Vigil was no longer functioning. The terminal it had run from, dark and silent as all the stasis pods in the chambers before it.  All of it casualties of time and neglect.

“Dr. T’Soni” Glyph called her attention back to the present “There appears to be reluctance from the Committee to allow you access. Would you like me to send the usual bribes or use leverage to gain permission?”

“Use leverage, we’ve been too kind lately. Warn them that if they don’t cooperate the repercussions could be serious.”

“Done, you should be getting confirmation of access in the next hour” He zipped away to follow through with other tasks, leaving Liara to her thoughts.


	3. Incarceration Stinks

Shepard hated being idle.

Forced by circumstance to sit in an apartment, a prison cell if she was being honest, while people in high places debated the veracity of her claims. Claims that a machine race was on its way to wipe out all advanced life in the known galaxy. Of course they couldn’t just listen and accept. No matter the staggering amounts of data that supported her. No matter how many times she had been proven right. No, the goddamn politicians had to ignore all that and focus on deaths that would have been much slower and more horrible had she not persisted. Shepard hated being interrogated daily on her actions regarding the Alpha Relay. Those actions had been necessitated by _yet another_ batch of indoctrinated scientists. If she could have saved the Batarians, she would have. Hell, she had tried; stubborn bastards had ignored her emergency transmission, staying put while the relay exploded. Gods know she needed everybody in the galaxy to fight this coming war. To defeat the Reapers, every able bodied person was going to have to stand and deliver.

Since turning herself in to the Alliance, Shepard had been locked away from her crewmates and denied access to the extranet. Her days were spent reading (approved novels of course), working out and typing messages to people that never went further than her draft folder. Most of them were to Garrus. She really missed her turian sniper. Missed so many things that when she went to put them to words all she could do was type short notes. Never one for eloquence in a normal situation, she found that it was even worse when she was trying to explain how much he meant to her.  Their parting had been strained, he didn’t agree with her being the sacrificial lamb while Hackett skated off with no punishment. He certainly didn’t agree with returning to Palaven to try and get his people ready for the invasion. Garrus had understood, but go silently, no way. She smiled at the memory of both the words spoken and the desperate coupling that followed. Those memories had to keep her going until she could see him again, fate willing.

There were breaks in the monotony when the Committee wanted to ask about some teensy detail, but for the most part she was stuck in neutral waiting. A situation that made her blood boil. She knew how little time was left before the enemy was on their metaphorical doorstep. She hoped that Garrus was having more luck with the Hierarchy; though given their luck probably not.

James Vega had been assigned as her shadow for those times when she was allowed out. Though her outings were limited to the shooting range, target rounds only and a park that was just outside the building she was housed in. Shepard tried to stay in shape by exercising in the morning. Sometimes it was jogging other times it was more involved training. Each work out was done until sweat soaked her clothes. After all she had nothing but time and she needed to be ready when the shit hit the fan. Vega tried to keep her entertained, but was restricted with what he could talk about or show her in vids.

This pattern of inactive frustration went on uninterrupted for about six months. Vega showed up at her door telling her that the Committee wanted to see her. Something in his stance told her that this visit would be different than the others. She nodded and motioned for him to lead the way.

Entering the hallway before the chambers, she saw people running around like bees in a hive, activity that was unusual from her past visits. Her gut clenched and a cold sweat broke out on her skin.

The Reapers were here and no one was prepared.

Anderson walked up and without saying much confirmed her suspicions.  Shepard hoped that they had mobilized the fleets, anything to stem the tide. While standing with Anderson waiting for entrance to the meeting room Kaidan walked up. He looked shaken, but otherwise in decent shape for someone she hadn’t seen since that bullshit on Horizon. She was polite, but not as friendly as in the past. The only thing she could be happy for is that he opened her eyes to the best thing that had ever happened to her; her best friend, now lover, Garrus. If Kaidan hadn’t treated her so shabbily on Horizon she wouldn’t have known how he felt for her. That night flashed through her mind.

_She had climbed into her shower still in her undersuit, not caring about anything but the pain ripping through her soul. The water pounding her with what seemed like punishment for the choices she had made since being brought back. She kept hearing Kaidan’s words echoing in her brain, like whips being laid across her flesh; taking pieces of what she was with each strike. She didn’t know how long she was submerged in misery before a sound brought her eyes towards the door. There stood Garrus, his face full of anger and sorrow._

_“Shepard, let me help” His two toned voice sounded uncertain and sad. She nodded to him but made no move to get up. She didn’t think she could, her whole body was numb and shivering with cold. He reached in and turned the water off, then bent down and scooped her up with ease and without a thought to how wet she was. His body heat immediately began warming her. He took her out to the main area and began removing her soaked clothes._

_“He was wrong, you know. You are still you.” He stated in a matter of fact tone._

_“How do you know? For all Cerberus did I could be a puppet.” Sounding defeated she stood placidly while he stripped first her saturated undersuit then her undergarments away. She stood naked before him not caring that her flesh was riddled with goose bumps and her nipples hard from the cold._

_He brought out a towel from the bathroom and began drying her with it. “Shepard, I KNOW. You have the same smell from before. You are still you. You even have the same quirks. When you are lining up a shot you still pull your arm in to brace it. You still chew your lip when going over reports, especially ones from higher ups. If you can’t believe yourself, believe me and what I know” His eyes looked deep into hers willing her to accept and understand “And I…” He trailed off as if reluctant to say the rest._

_“You noticed all that?” There was a hint of hysteria in her voice as she asked “And when did you smell me?! Can you smell me now?!” She shrugged off his hands and the towel, standing almost dry but still chilled; more from his words than the shower._

_“Sniper, remember? I notice details.” He sounded smug as he said it. “I can smell you from here, our sense of smell is very acute. Your scent hasn’t really changed since we met. There are added layers now” He paused as if trying to find a way to explain. “You have a hint of ozone added to gunmetal, a flower I don’t recognize and a hint of sweetness that has no name” His voice deepened as he explained, wrapping her up in a chorus of acceptance and understanding. “I’ve been with you from the beginning, I would like to think that anyone who had been with you since would know you’re you, Kaidan is blind.” He stopped for a moment putting his fingers on his nose plates and taking a deep breath. He looked like he was bracing himself for something. Then words she had never expected to hear from him escaped._

_“Shepard, we’ve always had a connection. I can predict your movements on the battlefield, anticipate your decisions in the briefing room. We’ve survived things that would have crushed anyone else. I’ve been on your six for a majority of it. The times I haven’t been bad things have happened to each of us. Omega and Alchera are the two most prominent. Though every time you take someone on a mission other than me you come back wounded. I worry about you and making sure you’re okay. I can’t leave you or lose you again. Somewhere along the way I fell in love with you. You may not reciprocate and I can live with that, hell this is not the best time to tell you these things, but I couldn’t tell you how I knew it was you without telling you everything.”_

_She had stood there, dumbstruck, naked and still chilled while Garrus bared his heart and soul. He had looked at her nervously after finishing, waiting for her to say anything. The silence had stretched on long enough that his mandibles were twitching in nervousness. “Forget I said anything” He turned to leave._

_“Garrus, wait…Can I get dressed before we talk?”_

_He had nodded and sat on the couch while she dressed. After sitting Shepard had swallowed audibly and started to talk._

_“Garrus, you’re my best friend in this whole fucked up galaxy. I didn’t want to mess it up by trying to make it more. You never gave me any indication that it could be. Damned Turian stoicism at its best; If I’d had any idea… I was lonely so I settled for Kaidan; it was just a release of stress. What he said on Horizon hurt me, not because I loved him, but because I’m sleeping with the enemy. People I would rather destroy I have to work with just to get to the bottom of missing colonists. The Alliance won’t do a damn thing, the Council keeps pretending that there is no threat. Someone has to take up the mantle, and here I am on a ship operated by an AI, managed by Cerberus, flailing in the dark. Other than Chakwas and Joker, Garrus, you’re it on the trust train. You are the only person I can have confidence will tell me like it is and watch my back in the field.” She paused to gather her thoughts and take a breath before resuming “Plus I’ve been in love with you for ages.”_

_“How long?” Garrus asked sounding both hopeful and hesitant._

_“Longer than I care to admit. You are everything I have ever wanted in a partner. Funny, smart, great with guns, a smart ass, sexy and your voice… yummy…” A genuine smile crossed her face. “You don’t put up with my bullshit, keep me grounded, try and keep me from doing seriously foolish things. I enjoy being around you in any situation, which kind of scares me considering what we do daily… I think we should see where things take us. I certainly don’t want to rush anything, we’ve grown together slowly so let’s take this next step just as carefully.”_

_“Are you sure Shepard? You don’t want anything closer to home?”_

_“No, this isn’t about our differences, it’s about us. Two people who care for each other.”_

Her mind returned to the present when Anderson let slip that Kaidan was now a major. After giving halfhearted congratulations, the Committee granted her access.

They were finally ready to listen. Of course with the ACTUAL Reapers on their doorstep, it was really hard to ignore. But it was too little, too late. Before anything could be decided a beam shattered the peace of the chamber killing almost everyone in the room. Anderson stumbled over to where Shepard had been thrown, shook her, yelling at her to get her ass up. Her ears ringing, she moved to obey, military training taking over.  They fought through the rubble that was once the headquarters of the human Alliance to get to the Normandy.  Anderson stayed behind on Earth, reinstating Shepard as she ran onto the deck of her ship where Kaidan and James were guarding the ramp. The admiral ordered her to the Citadel to see what support they could garner from the Council.

Before they were able to get out of the Sol system, Admiral Hackett sent orders to meet up with Liara at the Mars Archives. What she was doing there was a mystery since the coms were breaking up badly at that point. Shepard shrugged to herself, they would find out soon enough.


	4. Coalescence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard starts gathering things, or is it people?

When they arrived on Mars, Cerberus was already there. Fighting their way through to the archive to retrieve data that Liara thought would help fight the Reapers, Shepard had to contend with Kaidan questioning her every time there was a break in hostilities. He wouldn’t let her past involvement with Cerberus go. First he implied that she would know why they were there. When James shot that down by explaining the Shepard hadn’t had contact with them since she turned herself in, he seemed convinced. Then when they hit the tram roadblock he pushed again after the helmet was removed from one of the dead troopers. The husk like corpse made Shepard flinch, but not as much as the words that fell from Kaidan’s lips. He asked if that was what had been done to her. Her initial response wasn’t very polite so in the interests of keeping the mission workable, she bit it back. Her thoughts full of rage at Kaidan’s distrust of her and what she stood for, she turned away.

After convincing the enemy presence to send a tram their way, Shepard and crew fought through to the main room of the Archives. There they were interrupted by the Illusive Man and one of his cohorts.

“Shepard, fascinating race, the Protheans. They left all of this for us to discover but we squandered it.” He took a drag from his cigarette looking smug. “The Alliance has known about these Archives for more than thirty years and what have they done with it? Nothing. The data in this repository holds the key to solving the Reaper threat. With it we can control them.”

Shepard couldn’t hide the scorn and fury at his words “You’ve lost your mind! The Reapers can’t be controlled. We have to destroy them. There is no other choice. For our galaxy to survive they must be obliterated. The information contained here could be the very key to doing so.”

“Don’t interfere with my plans Shepard. Your usefulness is at an end.”

“Go to hell!” Shepard turned to Liara hoping she had collected the information that they had fought for. “Do you have it?”

“It’s being uploaded by someone from a terminal in this room. I can’t stop it.” Liara sounded panicked; her eyes betraying her terror at losing their best chance to continue to exist.  Just then both of them heard Kaidan over the coms

“Hey! Step away from the console! Now!”

Both Liara and Shepard hot footed it in Kaidan’s direction, but before either could get in range, he went flying from a melee strike and a woman ran off through the Archives. Kaidan got himself back on his feet yelling out “She’s got the data!” as he took off after her with Shepard hard on his heels. They chased the Cerberus operative through the Archives and up to the roof top landing pad area where she hopped onto a waiting shuttle. Before she could make good her escape James roared in and crashed theirs into it bringing it back down aflame.  Shepard dodged out of the way but Kaidan and Liara weren’t so lucky. Kaidan had his arm supporting Liara when the sound of metal twisting and grinding reached their ears. Everyone was shocked to see the Cerberus operative emerging from the flames of the downed shuttle.  This one wasn’t human… A robotic body that housed an AI who proceeded to beat the shit out of Kaidan before Shepard could shoot enough bullets to stop it. Kaidan lay unconscious, battered and beaten within an inch of his life. Shepard yelled at James to grab the AI while she did her best to scoop up the Major to board the waiting Normandy. With everyone on board, Joker high tailed it out of the area as the Reapers descended on Mars.

Without a doctor on board Kaidan couldn’t get the treatment he needed to survive. The only way he was going to make it was to get him to the Citadel as soon as possible. Shepard sent out a message on the QEC for the nearest ship heading to the Serpent Nebula, hoping there was someone closer. Kaidan was in luck there was a ship in range that was going exactly where he needed to be, with a doctor on board and willing to ferry him. With that worry removed Shepard’s mind turned to what needed to happen next. She really needed to get to Palaven, to get to Garrus, before the Reapers did. She needed her anchor to get her through the shit storm that was just starting to crest. Then she could begin the arduous task of building up a fleet that could take on the Reapers.

Liara came to Shepard in her quarters after helping transfer Kaidan to the waiting ship and said she had found the schematics for a device that previous cycles designed. She called it the Crucible. She didn’t know exactly what it was or what it did but her educated guess was that it would do the job against the Reapers. She had also found information about the Prothean file that they had talked about that long ago evening.

“All right, Liara, what do you have?”

Liara pulled up what she had found on Shepard’s private terminal. The plans for the device concise and easy to extrapolate how to build; it looked like they had been designed to be easy to translate.

“We’re going to need a lot of resources to get this built. You are going to have to play politics and get all the races to contribute.” Liara let a tiny smile form on her lips at the thought of Shepard playing nice with the Council and its races.

Ignoring the smirk and dig at her lack of diplomacy Shepard asked “And the Prothean file? What is it? Could it lead to another way to defeat the Reapers?  Did you get anything out of it?“

“Well, it could be helpful. Glyph located a video file that was badly damaged, not unlike the beacons. It’s fragmented but clear enough to give us coordinates to investigate. Let me access it for you.” After a few keystrokes the file began to play.

**_File #M0RG1Z1 (Video file found at the Mars Archives)_ **

**_“I’m the last, if anyone finds this, Whoever you are, if the Reapers are here now find {Message too degraded to translate} at these coordinates….He (Explosion sounds in the background){Message degraded}… Is this thing still working? Go ahead, I’ll be okay… I got her…” A humanoid image appears but the message is too degraded to show detail. Whoever they are they appear to be bent over then the message flashes and ends._ **

Shepard listened to the badly run-down file and wondered who/what had recorded it. Hell how about when. The coordinates were crystal clear but the rest was very difficult to discern. There was no way to tell if the being recording was male or female, nothing to even say why they should travel to that system.  But wasn’t her specialty impossible odds and goose chases? She hoped that there was something VERY important on that planet. A full proof way to defeat the Reapers would be really nice she thought to herself.  But that had to wait until she had her partner back, her rock. There was no way she was heading out on an impossible mission without him on her six.

She had EDI set course for The Apien Crest; it was time to see if she could find her reason for fighting.

When they arrived in the system it had already come under the scrutiny of the Reapers; however, with the Normandy in stealth she was able to pass undetected into Trebia. Nearing Palaven and Menae, Shepard saw the fires burning and tears filled her eyes at the massive scale of devastation the Reapers had wrought. She felt her heart breaking, seeing the enemy orbiting the planet where Garrus was supposed to be, there was little chance that he had escaped.

EDI picked up a distress call coming from the moon. It was very distorted and patchy. After cleaning up the communication, she sent Shepard the information. The Primarch had tried to leave to gather the leaders of the other races for a summit. Unfortunately, his shuttle had been shot down with no survivors. Shepard swore out loud at the news. She knew she had to find someone else and she had to find out what happened to Garrus. She ordered Vega and Liara to the shuttle bay.

“Armor up, we’re heading to Menae. We’ve got to find a way to get all the species together on this or we are all dead. Hopefully the Hierarchy has clear succession lines and they know who is next to lead their people in this insanity.” Her voice sounded rough with frustration. Nothing could ever be simple…

Neither James nor Liara said a word as they all loaded into the shuttle for the drop on the moon. Armed to the teeth, expecting hostile forces to engage as soon as they hit the ground, Shepard pushed the terror that threatened to wash over her aside and tried to focus on this mission.

They hit the ground hot and running. Reaper forces were everywhere. It seemed like the enemy had an endless supply of cannon fodder to throw at them.  By the time Shepard and her squad cleared out the area someone had managed to patch together the communications tower. A message came through the static to meet General Corinthus and explain their presence.

Arriving in the camp, Shepard noticed how thinned out the soldiers were. The Reapers must have hit this place pretty hard. She inwardly cringed; the odds of Garrus getting off Palaven to here and then still being alive weren’t good. She took a deep breath and walked over the where the general was currently gathering intelligence for the next step in defending his people.

“General, I’m Commander Shepard and I need whoever is the new Primarch to come with me for a summit that will gather allies for this war.” She was proud that her voice was full of authority, not a hint of the hysteria she felt bleeding through as she spoke.  

Before Corinthus could answer a voice behind her rang out. “I’m on it Shepard, we’ll find you the Primarch”

Her heart swelled with relief and happiness. She knew that voice; that sweet, sexy dual tone belonged to the very turian she had been screaming inside worrying about. Garrus was alive! Her feet were rooted to the deck or she would have flung herself into his arms in front of everyone, protocol be damned.

Corinthus saluted “Vakarian, sir, I didn’t see you arrive.”

“At ease General”

Shepard finally convinced her legs to move. She stepped up to Garrus, staring into his piercing blue eyes “You’re alive” Her voice betrayed none of her actual emotions.

“I’m hard to kill, you should know that” A hint of amusement colored his response as he reached up a grasped her hand in his. It was a small gesture but meant the world to her since turians didn’t normally display any sort of affection around others.

“I thought you’d be on Palaven, though I am very glad you’re here.” That was as much of a declaration she would give in these circumstances.  She waved Vega over and introduced them “James, this is Garrus Vakarian; he helped me stop Saren and the Collectors. He’s one hell of a soldier.”

Garrus acknowledged Vega with a nod “Lieutenant. Good to see you again Liara”

“You as well Garrus” Liara answered with a smile “and in one piece.”

He didn’t react to her slight dig and went on “We know who we have to find, Adrien Victus. He’s the next Primarch and I was fighting with him just this morning so I know the general area we should look in.” Garrus’ voice washed over Shepard like a wave. He was really here, really alive. Now if they could pick up the Primarch and get on with things her world might just feel right for the first time in about six months.

“Well then, you coming, Garrus?” Shepard allowed some of her anticipation to show through as she asked.

“Are you kidding?! I’m right behind you.” His mandibles flared out in a smile as he pulled his rifle out. “Just like old times”


End file.
